Systems and methods for providing targeted advertising and content delivery to mobile devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described for providing targeted content delivery, including advertising, to mobile devices. A content organization and distribution system may be configured to receive content from a plurality of publishers and provide targeted content to a plurality of users having mobile devices, where the mobile devices are connected to the content organization and distribution system through a plurality of carriers. The provided content may be based on one or more user customization criteria.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/163,780, filed Jun. 27, 2008, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/946,677,entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING TARGETED ADVERTISING ANDCONTENT DELIVERY TO MOBILE DEVICES, filed Jun. 27, 2007, both of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of the mobile Internet andassociated content delivery. More particularly but not exclusively, thisinvention relates to systems and methods for providing content delivery,including advertising, from publishers and their associated advertisersvia the mobile Internet, including providing micro-advertising based onuser-tailored criteria as well as by user location (location basedinformation also denoted herein as LBS) and temporal information thatmay be device specific and tailored to a specific network (e.g., 3G, 4G,and the like). The invention also relates to systems and methods forenabling content publishers to provide targeted advertising and othertypes of content to mobile users independently of the user's particularwireless carrier, particular mobile device, or over the air (OTA)provider.

BACKGROUND

Providers of goods and services have as a key goal the ability toidentify and target the right customers in the right fashion. The “holygrail” of advertising is a one-to-one relationship between the marketerand the consumer. Ideally this would be done by selecting the rightcustomer, in the right place, at the right time, and tailoringadvertising or other content to that customer to minimize cost andmaximize efficiency. Marketers desire to deliver their message only tocustomers who are interested and receptive, with the messagepersonalized to the particular customer. This problem is particularlyacute for smaller advertisers, who may have only limited advertisingbudgets and may desire to target only a small and/or selective group ofcustomers.

Traditional advertising media, has, for a number of reasons, providedlimited ability to achieve these goals. For example, much traditionaladvertising has been focused on providing large scale brute forcemarketing. Television advertising typically targets general populationswith only the limited possibility of tailoring based on particularaudience demographics, time of day, or subject matter. This approachremains relatively coarse in targeting desirable customers and istypically quite expensive. Likewise, print media such as newspapers andmagazines target general audiences, with limited potential for focusingon potential customers who are the “right” customers for particularcontent, products, or services. Focusing can be done based on thepublication's subject matter, article positioning, markets served, orother focusing criteria; however, targeting is still typically coarse,inefficient and potentially costly, with little or no ability topersonalize content presentation or implement behavioral targeting.

The advent of the Internet has introduced a new era in marketing andadvertising. Using the Internet, advertisers are now able to enhancecontent delivery using means such as contextual targeting, messagecustomization, easy and immediate response methods, more accurateperformance measurement, performance-based billing, as well as limitedability to target based on geography. These approaches can makeadvertising more efficient and focused, and potentially allow for bettertarget customization. For example, companies like Google and Yahoo havebeen successful at providing online advertising; however, their successis limited by the user's query (search request keywords and the like).Google's ad sense service is based on contextual ads but their analysisis based on web page content only.

The traditional Internet is still, however, largely limited to fixedlocations (i.e. places where a user's desktop or portable computer canbe operated in a static fashion) since computers are rarely carried byusers while being operational and connected to the Internet. Moreover,computers are typically not truly personal devices because they areoften shared with others.

Mobile phones, however, are truly personalized devices that tend to beon, connected to wireless networks, and in the user's possession at mosttimes. This has led to the rapid growth and proliferation of mobiledevices that combine characteristics of traditional mobile telephonywith Internet capabilities.

Consequently, it is anticipated that the next step in the evolution ofadvertising will likely be focused on the mobile web and truly portabledevices such as web enabled phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),and similar devices. These devices and their associated wireless carrierservices open the possibility for new, more efficient marketing andadvertising methods wherein content providers can target customers in amuch more efficient, granular fashion, and messages can be presented ina personalized fashion only to users who desire such content. Despitethis promise, there are multiple carriers using different and/orproprietary systems that make it difficult for advertisers to target allpotential users without engaging separately with these multiple carriersand navigating their various interfaces and requirements. Accordingly,there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods forproviding targeted advertising and other content to mobile devices.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates generally to facilitating providingcontent from publishers to users based on user targeted criteria. Thecontent may include user tailored news, images, videos, advertisementsor other types of content that can be delivered to a fixed or mobiledevice.

In one aspect, embodiments of the present invention relate to a contentorganization and distribution system including a first interface moduledisposed to interface to a plurality of content providers so as toreceive provided content from the content providers, a second interfacemodule disposed to provide a plurality of interfaces to a correspondingplurality of carriers to provide selected content to the plurality ofcarriers, a database in which is stored the provided content, theprovided content including a plurality of sets of content associatedwith the plurality of content providers, and a plurality of sets ofinformation associated with ones of a corresponding plurality of usersof ones of the plurality of carriers, and a processing module configuredto select, from the plurality of sets of content, a first set of contentassociated with a first of the plurality of content providers andconfigure at least a portion of said first set of content to bedelivered to a first user served by a first of the plurality ofcarriers; wherein the first set of content is selected based at least inpart on a set of information associated with the first user.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention relate to anadvertisement provisioning system including a first interface moduledisposed to interface to one or more local advertisement providers toreceive local advertising content, a second interface module disposed tointerface to ones of a plurality of third party advertisement providersto receive third party advertising content, a third interface moduledisposed to provide ones of a plurality of interfaces to ones of acorresponding plurality of carriers, and a processing module configuredto receive a request for content from a first device associated with afirst user, wherein the first device is configured to communicate with afirst carrier of the plurality of carriers, select an advertisement fromone of the local advertisement providers or the third partyadvertisement providers, and format the selected advertisement fordelivery to the first device based at least in part on a set of devicecapabilities associated with the first device.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention relate to amethod of providing content including receiving ones of a plurality ofsets of content from ones of a plurality of content providers, storingthe plurality of sets of content in a database, receiving a request toprovide content to a first user device configured to communicate with afirst carrier, and selecting a first portion of content from a first setof content included among the plurality of sets of content for deliveryto the first user device, where the selecting is based at least in parton a first user customization criteria associated with a first user ofthe first user device.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention relate to amethod of selecting user tailored content for delivery to a deviceincluding receiving, from a first device associated with a first user, afirst message having a first header, the first device being configuredto communicate with a first carrier, wherein the first header includesfirst URL information and first device type information, determining afirst device type associated with the first device based on the firstdevice type information, extracting a first template from a database,the first template being configured for presentation of content on thefirst device based on the first device type, selecting a first set ofcontent for delivery to the first device, said first set of contentselected based at least in part on a set of user customization criteriaassociated with the first user, and incorporating the first set ofcontent into the first template to create a set of first user customizedcontent.

Additional aspects of the present invention are further described belowin conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is more fully appreciated in connection with the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a illustrates a high level diagram of an embodiment of a systemin accordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 1 b illustrates additional aspects of an embodiment of a system inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 1 c illustrates an embodiment of a set of APIs for publisherconfiguration.

FIG. 1 d illustrates an embodiment of a set of APIs for enabling a CMSplug-in.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a system in accordance with aspectsof the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a system in accordance with aspectsof the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a set of system modules andapplications in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of message initiation in accordancewith aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of advertising/content provision inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a workflow for providing content inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a process for supplying advertising in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 b illustrates a process for selecting advertising in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 a illustrates a process for advertising identification inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 b illustrates a process for advertising/content type filtering inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 c illustrates a process for advertising/content filtering inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a system for advertising/contentdistribution in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of various content and distributionmechanisms to various users in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a processing workflow in accordancewith aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a user display in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 13 b illustrates an embodiment of a user display in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 13 c illustrates an embodiment of a user display in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 13 d illustrates an embodiment of a user display in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 14 a illustrates an embodiment of high level system operation forgenerating content and ad selections in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 b illustrates an embodiment of device type determination inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 14 c illustrates an embodiment of page formatting in accordancewith aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 14 d illustrates an embodiment of ad selection in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 14 e illustrates an embodiment of ad partner selection inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of user preference setting andcustomization in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of the mobileInternet and associated content delivery, including advertising. Moreparticularly but not exclusively, this invention relates to systems andmethods for providing content delivery from publishers and theirassociated advertisers via the mobile Internet, including providingmicro-advertising based on user tailored criteria as well as by userlocation (location based information, also denoted herein as LBS) andtemporal information. Targeting on the platform may be based ongeo-targeting, contextual targeting, behavioral targeting, zonetargeting, bandwidth targeting, language targeting, portal targeting,domain and IP targeting, content targeting, time/date targeting such ashour of the day, day of the week, as well as other targeting criteria.Content publishers are enabled to provide targeted advertising and othercontent to mobile users independently of the user's particular wirelesscarrier (operator) or other over the air (OTA) provider. Relevantcontent and local advertising is provided to mobile users, and localadvertisers are provided access to users interested in specific localinformation at relevant times.

In one or more embodiments, aspects of the present invention may bedescribed below with respect to a particular implementation provided bya company known as Verve Wireless. These embodiments may describeassociated systems components and functionality as a “Verve System” or“Verve” components or functionality for purposes of brevity andconvenience. It is noted that the invention is not so limited and isdescribed in this content merely for purposes of convenience, notlimitation.

Traditional local media content publishers use to enjoy directrelationships with local customers that enabled the publishers to chargeadvertisers significantly high advertising rates to reach thesecustomers. Local newspapers, magazines, radio, and television allenjoyed strong customer connections and advertising relationships.However, with the Internet, customers were suddenly able to receivesimilar content from many sources, and began to enjoy the ability todetermine what content to receive and when to receive it—completelyturning the old media consumption model on its head. Large web companieslike Google, Yahoo, and eBay built solutions that met consumerson-demand requirements. Traditional media did not respond to these newcompetitors initially or effectively thus allowing them to grow tosignificant positions in the marketplace. These large web companiesoffered better solutions for consumers and became the main focus areafor advertisers because of the significant consumer usage and reach theyoffered. The paradox is that the large web companies were delivering thecontent created by traditional and local media to consumers—thusbuilding their businesses on the back of the industry.

Due to significant loss in revenue and customers, traditional media isstarting to react. Ultimately, they have assets and capabilities thatcan never be matched by Internet companies. These are the creation ofcontent, the sale of local advertising, and local brands. The mobile weboffers the ability for publishers and advertisers to connectdirectly—one to one with consumers in the local market place. Mobileoffers the ability to communicate and transact with individuals. Themedium is by it very nature local and as such local media/traditionalmedia already have huge competitive advantages versusinternational-minded web companies. However, local media need to partnerand work together so they can drive leverage and ultimately margins withdistributors and advertisers. A local property with 50,000 users cannotnegotiate with carriers or advertising agencies. However, 2000 localpublishers with 2 million customers and national reach can compete withand negotiate favorable terms with any entity. Embodiments of thepresent invention are configured to address this need by facilitatingdirect connection and content delivery to consumers, aggregation ofusers and properties, maximum profitability and new business models forlocal media so that local media can compete for and win consumers in thenew On-Demand world.

As the mobile Internet develops it is likely to increasingly be drivenby local content, such as locally-oriented personalized advertising. Forexample, local content of interest to mobile device owners may consistof content and information associated with local news, local events,locally provided goods and services, as well as associated advertisingand the like. At the same time, industry predictions suggest that by2009 most consumers will have broadband-enabled mobile devices (3Gdevices with data capabilities up to 500 kbps) with locationidentification technology accurate to 10 meters or better. Thesecapabilities make mobile devices attractive to advertisers if they canselectively target customers within the appropriate location, withappropriate needs/interests, at the right time. For example, arestaurant owner may want to drive customer interest by targetinginterested mobile users within a certain distance (for example, 1 mile)and during a certain time (such as lunchtime—between 11 am and 1 pm) byproviding a discount coupon or other incentive to receptive potentialcustomers.

This approach present problems, however, when an advertiser has to dealwith multiple carriers to access their respective customers and haslittle or no knowledge of the customer's personal characteristics orinterests. For example, as of the time of filing of this application,there are four primary mobile carriers (Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, &T-Mobile) in the United States. In order to reach the broadest potentialmarket, advertisers would typically need to engage separately with eachof these carriers to reach their respective subscriber bases (exceptpossibly with off deck solutions; however, these approaches will not beas valuable from an advertising revenue perspective). Also, each mobilecarrier typically has a separate database containing similar informationbut with different types of access. In addition, many carriers are nowpartnering with preferred ad delivery partners (for example, Verizonwith Third Screen Media and Sprint with Enpocket). These ad deliverypartners are developing their own in-house technology to handle wirelessadvertising, which requires that advertisers become familiar with eachof their respective ad delivery technologies. It is one goal of thepresent invention to hide these differences from users to provide moreseamless, integrated access.

Advertisers typically drive their content to users either directly orthrough content publishers or advertising agencies. One particularcategory of interest is that of local publishers. Local publishersinclude local content providers such as small newspapers, magazinepublishers, or other similar content providers who wish to promulgatecontent of interest to a small population of interest or within a localcommunity (for example, a small-town newspaper or community newspaperwithin a larger city may wish to reach only users within a limitedgeographic area), as well as larger entities owning multiple localpublishers. Local advertisers commonly distribute advertising andcontent through local publishers. It is noted that as used herein, theterm advertiser refers to an individual or entity that desiresdistribution of their content, such as information, promotions,advertisements, or other content, to potential customers or others whomay desire receipt of their content. Advertisers, publishers, and othercontent providers may also be grouped generically as a category denotedherein as content providers as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.A local advertiser is typically a local or regional store, business orother entity that may be interested in targeting a local market.National advertisers are typically larger, national companies that areinterested in attracting business throughout the country. In some cases,national advertisers may be interested in assisting local advertisers(for example, a national advertiser such as Budweiser may be interestedin driving sales to a local advertiser such as a restaurant or bar). Ina typical relationship, the end user with a mobile device (also denotedherein as a consumer or user) is looking for trusted information andcontent, such as products, services, reviews, discounts, customerdesired or targeted advertisements and the like. The publishers, due totheir brands, own such information and have established relationshipswith local advertisers, like a local store or service provider such as adry cleaner in the neighborhood. The advertiser wishes to target theconsumer with relevant content desired by the consumer.

The local advertising market is one of particular interest. It has beenestimated that there are more than 8,000 local publishers in the UnitedStates alone and 30,000 or more worldwide. These local publishers maywish to distribute content to users with mobile devices from one or moreof the individuals or businesses who advertise in their print editions,web editions, or via other publications or media. They may also benefitfrom receiving information about ad tracking and performance monitoringand reporting. For these publishers to maximize value and provide themost relevant content, they need to be able to access and partner withmultiple mobile carriers who have the ability to provide location data,customer demographics, distribution, promotion, messaging services, andthe necessary network connections to their users' mobile devices.

Likewise, it is advantageous for wireless carriers to embrace localpublishers because their customers want and will seek local,personalized content targeted to them based on their interests,location, as well as in some cases time of day or other parameters. Atthe same time, the carriers will have difficulty capturing these localmarkets without providing local publishers and advertisers a means toavoid engaging in relationships with multiple carriers in order tocapture the desired users. In addition, carriers, who are in constantaggressive competition with each other, have little motivation to shareaccess to their networks or customer bases with other carriers. Thispresents opportunities for third parties to interact directly withpublishers and advertisers in a common way, while also providinginterfaces to deliver content through multiple carriers based on eachcarrier's unique interfaces, without requiring the publishers oradvertisers to be knowledgeable about these interfaces.

In addition to considering mobile advertising from theadvertiser/publisher's and carrier's perspective, it is also helpful toconsider the user's perspective. Despite the growth in mobile contentdelivery, mobile device capabilities and service capabilities and costsvary widely. Bandwidth is generally precious and download speeds vary,necessitating limiting the size/quantity of content delivered. Devicesupport for various screen sizes, resolutions, fonts, and the like alsovary widely, embedded media player capabilities are not consistent, andthere is a wide mix of user interfaces, bandwidths, and complexity incurrent mobile technology. Likewise, because of the small size of mostmobile devices text entry capability is often limited and cumbersome,making responses difficult, and mobile browser functions are typicallylimited. For example, mobile browsers typically cannot execute scriptsand similar functions, and many different mobile browsers having varyingfeatures and functions exist on the market today.

Because mobile display screens are typically small, the advertisingitself should not be disruptive. This necessitates relying on the ad'srelevancy rather than large text, flashing graphics, or other “in yourface” tactics. Also, carriers are sensitive to subscriber and servicechurn, and will ultimately want to control content delivered over theirnetworks. Since the mobile phone is a personal device, users will bemore sensitive to privacy concerns, and content providers andadvertisers must also be sensitive to use of user profiling and desireto opt-out of receiving content. This suggests providing mechanisms forallowing users to opt-out, as well as for maintaining user privacy andanonymity if desired.

Despite these concerns, it is clear that mobile phones offer some uniqueadvantages over other modes of Internet content delivery such as viacomputers. Since a mobile phone is a personal device, the probabilitythat requests coming from a particular phone are being made by the sameuser is high. In addition, it is also probable that the same user ismaking all or most requests from the same device. Also, with theassistance of current and developing location technologies, real-timeknowledge of users' locations makes location-based services much moreattractive than previously used IP based geo-targeting. This allows formore direct and granular contacts with users where a user's locationrelative to an advertiser's products or services is important, thusmaking the advertiser's content immediately relevant and potentiallycompelling. Also, although mobile display screens are typically small,which may limit their presentation capabilities, the small size alsoprovides a focus for users' attention so that content can be easilydigested.

Consequently, information about users' interests may be used inconjunction with new mobile technology to give advertisers extremelyprecise targeting of users, allowing content, including advertising, tobe sent only to people who find it relevant. For example, a user maylisten to a downloaded Bob Dylan song and purchase books about BobDylan, ringtones, or tickets from a classified advertisement. Thisinformation could then be provided to a centralized management systemwhere it may be combined with geographic, network, device and temporalinformation to provide micro-targeting of relevant additional contentand advertising to the user (i.e., allowing the system to become the“last-mile” for advertisers/publishers to provide highly focused contentdelivery). In addition, bandwidth characteristics may be obtained,allowing determination of the type of content a device supports. Forexample, some devices may be capable of supporting only text or banners,whereas others may be capable of receiving a trailer or videos.Knowledge of device capabilities enables providing device specificoptimized content provisioning.

A mobile content management and distribution system (also denoted hereinas a Mobile Dashboard) configured to address the above issues as well asothers can provide benefits to advertisers, publishers, carriers, mobiledevice users, as well as others.

Embodiments of the present invention address these and other problems byproviding content providers with, among other features, acarrier-agnostic interface designed to eliminate the need to deal withmultiple wireless carriers in different ways, as well as identificationand collection of personal characteristics of users to help contentproviders target the “right” customers. Such personalization informationmay be combined with temporal, geographic, and other user information tofurther assist advertisers in targeting customers. Content may bedelivered to users in a format appropriate to their particular mobiledevices and networks based on the above and other characteristics andcriteria. Users may also be provided with means for participating in themobile Internet by creating sites tailored to their personal interests(i.e., a user blog or personalized web page). These sites may, forexample, contain information from trusted publishers along with usersupplied information, such as user interests and comments, to implementa form of social networking for media companies.

Embodiments of the inventive system may comprise features including:providing all necessary connections and agreements to deliver, create(i.e. sponsored SMS, MMS, etc.) and receive data, content, andadvertising between carriers and publishers; accounting systems fortracking all exchanges of advertising and reports on revenue shares andnecessary distribution and reporting (i.e. for specific campaignmeasurement); a local content gateway allowing carriers to offer contentand advertising from all advertisers, ad agencies, and publishers,irrespective of size, location, or technological capabilities. Exemplaryembodiments may include a full suite of mobile publishing andadvertising tools, systems, and vertical applications for publishers whoneed or can benefit from them.

System Configurations

Attention is now directed to FIG. 1 a, which illustrates a high-levelsystem view of an embodiment of a mobile content system 100 according toaspects of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1 a, contentproviders 102 are provided one or more interfaces 117, 118, to a mobilecontent organization and distribution system (also denoted herein forbrevity as a “content distribution system” or merely “system”) 120.Content providers 102 may include local 104 and national 106 advertisersproviding content (content as used herein may include various contentprovided to users as well as advertising) directly or indirectly tocontent distribution system 120. Content may also be provided throughone or more content publishers 110 such as local publishers, and/orthrough advertising agencies 116, and/or through other third partycontent providers 114.

In an exemplary embodiment in accordance with FIG. 1 a, contentpublishers 110 are the owners of the content. The content typicallyincludes content items such as news clips and stories, reviews (such asproduct reviews, services reviews such as restaurant reviews, and/orother reviews of products and services), breaking news, images, imagegalleries, stories, advertisements, videos and the like. The contentpublishers 110 have relationships with local advertisers 104 and/ornational advertisers 106. In addition, third party content providers maybe included to re-sell content to publishers and/or distribute contentthrough their own applications. Third party content providers 114 haverelationships with ad agencies 112, which have relationships withnational advertisers 106. In addition, third party providers may havedirect relationships with national advertisers 106. Local advertisers104 and national advertisers 106 can have advertisements stored on oneor more of their own or others' local servers 115 and/or on one or moread database servers 116 and/or 128 or other databases (not shown). Thesead database servers may be located internally to system 120 and/orexternally as shown in FIG. 1 a.

Content distribution system 120 may comprise one or more modules toprovide functionality related to content creation, uploading anddownloading, management, user selection, and other features andfunctions as described and illustrated herein with respect toadvertising and content delivery. These modules may comprise hardware,software and/or hardware software combination configured to implementthe varied functionality described and illustrated herein. Modulecomponents may include one or more computer systems including computerprocessors/servers, memory or other storage devices, interface devices,peripheral devices, displays, operating systems, application programsand/or other computer systems, programs or associated devices.

Content publishers 110 may interface with content distribution system120 through one or more interfaces 117 to one or more importer modules121. Interfaces 117 may be configured to communicate via HTTP, FTP orother types of communication mechanisms such as are known or developedin the art. The importer modules 121 may be configured to provide accessto one or more databases 128 as is further illustrated in FIG. 6.Likewise, third party content providers 114 may also interface withcontent distribution system 120 through one or more interfaces 117 toone or more importer modules 121. As shown in FIG. 6, publishers orthird party content providers can provide publisher data 510 stored onone or more servers or other data storage media to one or more Verveplatform databases 128 through interfaces 117 and import module 121.Acceptable formats of communication between the system 120 andpublishers may include a variety of formats such as CSV format, RSSformat, Atom format or other formats known or developed in the art.Format configuration may be facilitated by administrative functions suchas are provided by a mobile dashboard module 124 as shown in FIG. 1 a.In addition, content retrieval may be automated on a regular ornon-regular basis in conjunction with a scheduler 630.

In addition, local advertisers 104, national advertisers 106 and/or adagencies 112 may be provided with one or more interfaces 118 to a Vervead management network module 122. Ad management module 122 is configuredto select and serve targeted ads to users 140. This functionality mayalso be denoted herein as “AdCel” functionality. Selection is typicallydone to satisfy one or user customization criteria related to the user,such as providing an appropriate ad for a specific user based on aspecific device and interest, at an appropriate time and location. Anyor all of these criteria may be used to generate the particular ad.Additional details regarding embodiments of ad selection and targetingare further described with respect to FIG. 14. In general, AdCellmanagement is configurable by a publisher using administration functionsof the mobile dashboard module 124 as shown in FIG. 1 a.

System 120 may also include one or more content and presentation modules123 configured to extract appropriate content from one or more databases120, reformat it according to requirements such as user devicecapabilities, user selections or preferences or other criteria, andfacilitate sending it to the user's device through the associatedcarrier (130 a-130 d) and/or through other network providers 170 and/orthrough third party content delivery 160. It is noted that modules 121,122 and 123 are provided for purposes of explanation, not limitation,and other modular configurations implementing the same or similarfunctionality may alternately be used.

Interfaces 117 and 118 may be configured to allow content providers toaccess content distribution system 120, create content for distribution,provide content or other information to content distribution system 120,receive content and information from content distribution system 120,allow publishers to configure and control advertising and contentdistribution management campaigns, as well as provide connectivity,interfaces, GUIs, monitoring, reporting, accounting, and other featuresbetween content providers 102 and content distribution system 120.Content distribution system 120 is provided in part to facilitateconnectivity to content providers and therefore as features andfunctions are added content providers will automatically be providedwith the feature updates. It is noted that while in some embodimentscontent distribution system 120 is configured as a standalone system, inother embodiments the features and functionality of content distributionsystem 120 may be integrated into content providers' Content ManagementSystems (CMS) so that it appears as a single unified system from theproviders' perspective.

Content distribution system 120 also provides one or more interfaces 122to one or more mobile carriers 130 or other network providers 170. Asused herein, other network providers may include any of variousnon-carrier providers, such as ISP providers, Satellite providers, Wi-Fior Wi-Max providers, long term evolution (LTE) providers, or other typesof providers using known or developed non-carrier interfaces. Forexample, content may be delivered to a user have Wi-Fi (or other)connectivity through a cell phone, PDA, or other portable device, at aparticular location or building where Wi-Fi (or other) connectivity isavailable, either where the user's associated carrier is also availableor in places where no carrier connectivity is available. This option maybe selected by the user in a customization process associated withsystem 120, where the user selects particular ways of content provisionsuch as is further described below.

It will be noted that FIG. 1 a illustrates four mobile carriers 130a-130 d, however, the number of mobile carriers is not so limited andfewer or more carriers may be accommodated. For example, in the UnitedStates there are four primary mobile carriers: Sprint, Verizon,T-Mobile, and AT&T. In one exemplary embodiment one or more interfacesmay be provided to each of these carriers as well as others (such asAlltel, Cricket, US Cellular, etc.). It is likewise noted that othercarriers and/or configurations are possible and fully contemplatedherein. For example, in some embodiments, alternate providers 170 suchas satellite providers, WiMax providers, or others capable of providingwired or over the air (OTA) service to mobile devices may be includedinstead of, or in addition to, cellular providers. Interfaces 122 mayprovide means for provision of information to one or more wireless orother carriers based on their unique systems and interfaces, and mayallow content distribution system 120 to receive information from thecarriers regarding user device characteristics, content provision,performance, responses, and other parameters. In accordance with oneaspect of the present invention, it may be advantageous for contentproviders to be given such a carrier agnostic interface in order toavoid having to custom format content for the increasingly diversenumber of device types and connectivity associated with the varioususers and associated carriers.

In general, mobile carriers 130 operate wireless communications systemsthat provide wireless connections 132 to multiple users 140. Suchwireless communications systems may operate in accordance withstandardized protocols such as, for example, CDMA, GSM, or otherwireless technology (i.e., 802.11, WiMax/802.16, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, LTE,etc.) or instead may comprise proprietary systems. As noted previously,in some embodiments, other providers 170 provide similar functionalityin addition to or in place of that provided by carriers 130 toassociated mobile devices. In addition, in some embodiments wired,rather than wireless, connectivity may be facilitated to provideconnectivity through fully or partially wired connections to the users140. It is noted that communication technology is constantly evolving,and therefore newly developed standards may also be used within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

The communications systems operated by carriers 130 may provide users140 with voice or text content, mobile web content, email, SMS & MMStext messages, video, podcast, flash, mobilTV, and/or other features andservices as may be offered by advertisers/publishers through theassociated carriers 130 or other providers 170. Content from contentdistribution system 120 may be provided to users 140 through theirrespective carrier or carriers, and content distribution system 120 mayalso collect, store, analyze, process, and distribute information fromcarriers 130 and users 140. Such information may also be distributed tocarriers 130 and/or content providers 102. As used herein, carriers 130,other providers 170, and their associated users 140 may be grouped intoa common classification denoted as clients 180, which includes thecarriers, other providers, and their associated users.

In addition to providing content to users 140 through carriers and otherproviders, content distribution system 120 may also have one or modulesor interfaces 126 configured to provide information and content to oneor more third party content providers 160, which may then providecontent to users through carriers 130 or other network providers 170,and may be configured to receive information from third party contentproviders, wherein the third party providers can then interact directlywith one or more associated carriers 130. For example, as notedpreviously, carriers may establish relationships with one or more thirdparty providers. These third party providers may, among other functions,take advantage of less expensive “remnant” inventory when publishers'own ad sales are insufficient to fulfill the demand, and provide thisinventory to users directly through their respective carriers. Thisapproach may be used to offer publishers additional time to adjust tomobile advertising and educate their sponsors, while still allowing themto see a return on editorial content.

FIG. 1 b provides another view of an embodiment of system 100illustrating additional aspects of an exemplary embodiment of a contentdistribution system 120. As shown in FIG. 1 b, content distributionsystem 120 may comprise modules including hardware, software, as well asa combination of hardware and software configured to providefunctionality related to various aspects of system 100. In someembodiments, content system 120 is designed to be integrated with apublishers CMS. This can be done in the form of a plug-in to the CMSusing the APIs shown in FIG. 1 d. These APIs may include API's shown inFIG. 1 c as content interface APIs 123 and/or dashboard core APIs 124 das shown in FIG. 1 d.

Content interface module 123 may further include one or more submodulesconfigured to interface with publishers/advertisers 110 to provide GUIs,allow configuration, content creation, control and management ofadvertising campaigns, support for uploading and downloading of contentand other data and information, receipt and transmission of reports,content, data and other information, and other functions related toengaging in advertising or content distribution campaigns, managingcampaigns, receiving reports and other information related to thosecampaigns, as well as other related functions.

In an exemplary embodiment content interface module 123 includesmultiple application programming interface (API) submodules implementingvarious features as are further described below, as well as others.

If a third party content provider wishes to define a different look andfeel to the default Verve system or create their own client they can usethe set of APIs illustrated in FIG. 1 c to extract the contentinformation they need. FIG. 1 d APIs may be provided to enable a plug-into a CMS system. Accordingly, FIG. 1 c and FIG. 1 d define a set ofAPI's for integrating the mobile dashboard module and/or for extractingdata from the system 120 to create a third party client with a specificlook and feel, as an extension to system 120. For example, API 190(Content Hierarchy API), API 191 (Content API) and API 192 (Search API)provide an interface to the content module 123 as shown in FIG. 1 a. API196 (Advertisement API) provides an interface to management networkmodule 122. APIs 182 and 183 (Reports API) and (Accounting API) providean interface to facilitate fetching associated information from system120. APIs 187 and 188 (Advertising and Campaign Management) provide aninterface for fetching a targeted ad from the management network module122. API 199 is an interface for facilitating content protection andproviding accurate content reporting. API 185 provides an interface tofacilitate access to scheduling functions to allow retrieval of contenton a regular basis. API 186 provides an interface to facilitate allowinga user to subscribe to a regularly scheduled message. API 189 providesan interface to facilitate receiving location based (LBS) information.API 195 provides an interface to facilitate return of informationrelated to a neighborhood, city and state of a user given the user'slongitude and latitude. API 197 provides an interface to facilitatereturn of rating numbers of an article. API 198 provides an interface tofacilitate return of a user's history (i.e. links the user has browsed).Modules implementing the associated features and functions describedwith respect to these APIs are also typically provided in system 120.

In some embodiments a messaging API module 184 may be constructed in amodular manner to support pluggable integration and enhancements.Aspects of an embodiment are further described as follows. At the coreof the messaging API is the concept of a “Message.” A Message in it'ssimplest form contains a list of recipients and a sender. The mostcommon implementation of a Message in a typical embodiment is an“SmsMessage.” SmsMessages have a text body, a “from” field, and anoptional “PushUrl.” The PushUrl is used to send http links to mobiledevices. SmsMessages may be sent to “PhoneAddressableRecipients,”meaning recipients with a phone number.

Messages may be sent via a MessageSender interface. The MessageSenderinterface itself typically knows nothing about the Message type or howit is to be sent, however, implementations of the MessageSender definethese things. For example, Mqube may be used as an SMS aggregator. Thenan MqubeMessageSender may be created which takes messages and sendsthem. In addition a TwoChatterMessageSender and aClickatellMessageSender may be used to perform similar functionality.Additional details of this messaging are illustrated in FIG. 5.

The MessageSender interface gets the request to send a message, howeverit still must know which MessageSender to route the message through.This may be done through a lookup to determine, based upon certaincriteria, which sender to use. The criteria may include properties suchas: MessageFunction—what's the purpose of this message?; Sender—doesthis sender require a specific message sender?

Because a typical system must deal with integration of externalservices, it may be important to handle situations when the externalservices are not available. The messaging API may be configured to havethe ability to store & resend messages upon unsuccessful attempts. Itmay also be configured to attempt sending via differentaggregators/transport mechanisms in the event of failure. The status ofall message sending attempts can easily be determined through logs ofthe attempts.

Content distribution system 120 may also include a Mobile DashboardModule 124 configured to provide administrative related functionality.Mobile Dashboard module 124 is primarily configured to facilitateprovisioning, configuration and entitlement. It may also be configuredto provide a reporting and auditing view of the site, as well asproviding other administrative functionality. Module 124 may includefeatures allowing publishers to configure the system 120 to enablemobilizing their content, sending messages to their users and monetizingtheir content through advertising. In accordance with one embodiment,module 124 may include features enabling publishers to integrate system120 directly with their content management system (CMS), such as isshown as publisher's database 510 in FIG. 1 a. A set of APIs 124 d asshown in FIG. 1 d may be provided to facilitate this integration. API182 d is an interface for facilitating publisher configuration of sitedetails such as channel names, ordering and the like. API 183 d is aninterface for facilitating publisher configuration, such as enablingsite details, templates, and the like. API 184 d is an interface forfacilitating access to messaging functions for purposes of configurationand scheduling future messages to be sent to users. API 185 d is aninterface for facilitating access to a scheduling module (i.e., module630) for control of repetitive ingestion of feeds or further schedulingmessages. API 186 d is an interface for facilitating configuration ofuser message subscription. API 187 d in an interface for facilitatingconfiguration of advertising in conjunction with modules such asadvertising management module 122, ad delivery subsystem 230, and adtargeting subsystem 250. API 188 d is an interface of facilitatingconfiguration of ad campaigns, include the burn rate and flight,impressions, etc, for a specific publisher. Other APIs providedadditional functionality such as authentication and user login may alsobe provided. Modules implementing the associated features and functionsdescribed with respect to these APIs are also typically provided in themobile dashboard module 124 and/or elsewhere in system 120, such as inthe subsystems shown in FIG. 2.

Content distribution system 120 may also include a carrier interfacemodule 127 configured to provide an interface to one or more carriers orother providers and their associated users/subscribers' mobile devices(clients 180). Carrier interface module 127 may be configured to providea carrier-agnostic interface to the associated carriers and otherproviders so that content from content providers may be stored andprocessed in content module 123 and then seamlessly configured anddistributed to clients 180 through carrier interface 127.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 2 which illustrates additional detailsof an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2,content distribution system 120 may include multiple modules and/orsubsystems in addition to or in place of those shown in FIG. 1 b,configured to provide functionality associated with various aspects ofthe present invention. The modules as shown in FIG. 2 will typically beincluded within the general submodules 121, 122, 123, 124, and 126 asillustrated in FIG. 1 a, however, other configuration are possible andcontemplated herein.

These subsystems may include a provisioning and trafficking subsystem210 configured to interface with one or more publishers 110 and providepublishers with access to system functionality such as graphical userinterfaces (GUIs), uploading content and information, sending contentand information to publishers, databases for campaign information,management, accounting, advertising media storage, and relatedfunctionality. In a typical embodiment provisioning and traffickingsubsystem 210 may be included within module 123 as shown in FIG. 1 a.Provisional and trafficking subsystem 210 enables configuration of thepartner and the ad networks available to this partner, as well asstorage of ad media and campaign and accounting information.

A reporting and inventory subsystem 220 may be provided to receive andprocess report requests and report data and information, manage andgenerate reports, inventory reporting results, provide data warehousing,and provide related functions. Reporting and inventory subsystem 220 maybe configured to interface directly or indirectly with provisioning andtrafficking subsystem 210 as well as with other subsystems includingthose shown in FIG. 2. In a typical embodiment reporting and inventorysubsystem 220 may be included within content Dashboard module 124 asshown in FIG. 1 a. Reporting and inventory subsystem 220 facilitatesproviding information such as reports on the number of page views, thenumber of uniques, the number of hits, etc. per publisher and/or persite as well as other statistics that may be important to an adplatform. Reporting and inventory subsystem 220 can also be used forvarious auditing purposes and can report on ad inventory and burn rate.The reporting functionality may also be related to the 124 d APIillustrated in FIG. 1 b.

An ad delivery subsystem 230 may be provided to implement one or more addelivery sub-systems or modules. Ad delivery subsystem provides thecapability of delivering different types of ad formats based upon inputfrom other modules such as modules 210, 220, and 250. For example,modules may be provided to receive information and content fromprovisioning and trafficking subsystem 210, ad targeting and selectionsubsystem 250, action and measurement subsystem 260, or from othersubsystems or modules including those shown in FIG. 2. Modules within addelivery subsystem 230 may include a WAP banner module, a WAP textmodule, an SMS text module, an MMS module, a mobile video module, orother modules associated with delivery of content to carriers and theirassociated subscribers. Ad delivery subsystem 230 provides a mechanismfor enabling the ad platform to select the right ad for a specific user,at a specific time and based on a specific device and/or network.

Ad delivery subsystem 230 may be configured to interface with carriersor other providers through interface 122 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, orthrough other means known or developed in the art, based on informationand content associated with a particular user or users. Ad deliverysubsystem 230 may also be configured to receive information from clients180 through interface 122, such as requests from users. Content deliveryand request information may be routed to and from ad delivery subsystem230 directly or through an anonymizer module 235. Anonymizer module 235may be included to allow content providers to micro-target users withrelevant information without revealing that person's identity. In atypical embodiment ad delivery subsystem 230 may be included withinmodule 123 as shown in FIG. 1 b, or in other core modules within system120.

An ad targeting and selection subsystem 250 may be provided. Thisfunctionality may be included in or associated with ad managementnetwork 122 as shown in FIG. 1 a. Ad targeting and selection subsystem250 may include one or more modules in the form of a targeting database,real time ad targeting engine, subscriber state database, or othermodules and subsystems. Ad targeting and selection subsystem 250 may beconfigured to interface with other subsystems as shown in FIG. 2,including provisioning and trafficking subsystem 210, reporting andinventory subsystem 220, ad delivery subsystem 230, action andmeasurement subsystem 260, external subscriber data subsystem 270, orother subsystems or modules as may be provided in content distributionsystem 120. In a typical embodiment, ad targeting and selectionsubsystem 250 may be included within dashboard module 124 as shown inFIG. 1 a. In a typical embodiment, subsystem 250 includes a series ofbusiness rules that enable improved targeting and maximization of ROI.

An action and measurement subsystem 260 may be provided. Action andmeasurement subsystem 260 may comprise one or more modules configured toprovide and measure functionality related to collecting, monitoring,analyzing, and responding to content provisioning. Action andmeasurement subsystem 260 may include modules to monitor an externallybranded WAP site, click to call gateway, provide SMS coupons, providelocation and/or direction lookup, or other related functions. Action andmeasurement subsystem 260 may be configured to send and receive content,information, and data through interface 122 to mobile clients 180.Action and measurement subsystem 260 may also be configured to providecontent, information, and data to reporting and inventory subsystem 220such as delivered impressions and responses, including the raw date froma specific user clicking/selecting information. Such data may be storedby reporting and inventory subsystem 220 and/or may be used by reportingand inventory subsystem 220 to generate reports or other informationthat may be provided to publishers 110. In a typical embodiment actionand measurement subsystem 260 may be included within dashboard module124 and/or within carrier interface module 127 as shown in FIG. 1 b.

An external subscriber data subsystem 270 may be provided. Externalsubscriber data subsystem 270 may include servers, databases, or othertechnology configured to store data associated with publishers,carriers, users, or other entities. Subsystem 270 is the external 3^(rd)party subscriber data. With this data, targeting and selection of the admay be improved. For example, 3^(rd) party databases such as operationscan be used for improved targeting. In one embodiment externalsubscriber subsystem 270 includes a publisher's subscriber databasewhich may store associated data, as well as a mobile carrier subscriberdatabase with associated data. In a typical embodiment externalsubscriber data module 270 may be included within dashboard module 124as shown in FIG. 1 b. External subscriber data subsystem 270 may be usedto provide subscriber specific information when selecting one or moreads to be targeted to a particular user such as is further describedwith respect to FIGS. 8 and 9.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 3 which illustrates some exemplaryapplication programs and modules related to various features andfunctions that may be provided by embodiments of the present invention.Modules as shown in FIG. 3 may be configured to operate within one ormore subsystems as shown in FIG. 2. Embodiments of a system inaccordance with the present invention may include a centralized ordistributed content repository 350 containing content, data, andinformation associated with content distribution and management. Inaddition, embodiments may include one or more reporting modules 310.Such modules may include one or more functional submodules providingvarious reports such as standard campaign reports, pacing reports,subscription reports, or other reports or related information.Embodiments may include one or more “sticky application” modules,wherein such modules may include a range of “sticky applications” suchas search applications, instant messaging (IM), 2-way SMS, WAP browsing,voting and contests, user personalized alert generation anddistribution, video, picture, audio, or other content galleries, socialapplications such as a MyMobile Page application, or other applications.As used herein, the term “sticky applications” refers to userapplications that are socially oriented and/or intended to keep usersreturning to the applications. For example, a user may enjoy theinterface of a particular application and/or the information providedand will therefore keep returning to get responses/destinations.

Embodiments may include a core service module 330 comprising a set ofapplications/modules allowing users to access information and contentand provide user inputs and requests. Such applications may includeservices known in the art, such as BestOf, Weather, Classified Ads,Ringtones, Horoscope, Restaurant Listings, “DirtySecrets,” Real Estate,Click 2 Call, Click 2 Vote, Click 2 Buy, Picture, Video, or AudioGalleries, as well as a wide range of additional modules.

Embodiments may also include a filtering and personalization module 360comprising one or more submodules configured to receive and sendinformation and data associated with publishers, carriers, users, orsystem operation. Submodules may include consumer preference modules,device based capabilities modules, location based information modules,temporal based information modules, network information modules, sessioninformation modules, or other similar modules.

Embodiments may also include one or more core ad platform modules 370.Ad platform modules may further include multiple sub-modules providingfunctionality associated with various aspects of content managementsystems including advertisement, events and notifications, targeting,storage and management of third party plug-ins, as well as otherfunctions.

Embodiments may be provided with a content importer module 340configured to receive and send content, information, and data fromexternal publisher sources. Publisher data may be provided through meansknown in the art including RSS feeds, XSL transformation (XSLT), Customadaptors, or other means known in the art. Data provided by the contentimporter module may be in the form of a basic RSS feed and/or may be acustom or proprietary RSS feed with syndication. For example, datareceived from a content provider may be in a different format such as aflat file or XML file. This data may then be transformed to a fullycontained RSS feed tailored for mobile applications.

Embodiments may also include one or more transport modules 370 toreceive and distribute content and information to publishers. Contentmay be delivered via SMS, MMS, E-mail, or other means known in the art.Content provided by transport module 370 may be provided in a fashionthat is independent of a particular carrier so that a publisher canreceive and send advertising and content enabled device. For example,advertisement may be micro-targeted as it is input based on parameterssuch as network type, device capabilities, geographical/locationinformation, temporal information, session information, consumerprofiles, as well as other parameters with the goal of providinggeographically oriented contextual information and advertising optimizedfor a particular user.

FIG. 4 provides an illustration of an alternate embodiment of moduleconfigurations of a system 120.

Publisher Interface Modules and Functions

Systems in accordance with the present invention may include one or moreinterfaces to allow publishers/advertisers to provide content, manageadvertising campaigns, monitor advertising campaign performance orresults, or perform other functions related to content distribution. Inan exemplary embodiment, an interface 117 as shown in FIG. 1 a may beprovided between content providers 102 and content distribution system120. The interface may include hardware and/or software comprising oneor more modules configured to allow content providers to provide contentto content distribution system 120 through publisher interface module123 as illustrated in FIG. 1 b as well as receive content and otherinformation from content distribution system 120.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of an interface between a contentprovider 102 and a content distribution system 120 such as may beprovided, for example, in publisher interface module 123 as shown inFIG. 1 b. As shown in FIG. 5, a content provider 110 may accessdistribution system 120 through an interface 117 such as is shown inFIG. 1 a. Interface 117 may be configured to provide multiple accessmeans for content provider 102 to access distribution system 120. In oneexemplary embodiment, one or more importer modules 121 may be providedin distribution system 120 to allow a publisher to interact with themanagement system via a web browser or web based application interface117 a. In addition, one or more modules 121 may be provided bydistribution system 120 to allow a content provider/publisher's contentmanagement system (CMS) 510 to interact directly with distributionsystem 120 to schedule and provide content through interface 117 b.

Interactions as illustrated in FIG. 5 may be managed and controlledbased on one or more application programming interfaces (APIs). The APIsprovide a way to access the core data of the system 120 separate fromthe presentation of the data. Mobile dashboard 124 provides a set ofthese APIs as shown in FIG. 1 d, and FIG. 1 c illustrates APIs for thecontent, which corresponds to module 123 of FIG. 1 a. The content mayinclude an ad as well as 3^(rd) party content. Exemplary APIs in atypical system may include one or more of the following: a mobile numberlookup API may be provided, allowing publishers the ability to target asingle operator by targeting specific users and eliminating the need forusers to provide carrier information during web registration,simplifying the registration process and overcoming the issue of userschanging carriers and therefore giving the publisher the ability to billon the mobile user's bill directly. In addition, specific devices,users, networks or combinations may be targeted; a content API may beprovided which delivers content hosted by a content management system; aMobileSite API may be provided that enables publishers to create amobile site using the content management system; a messaging API thatdelivers a message to one or many mobiles—in a typical configuration keyoptions for sending messages are: one-way SMS, two-way SMS (built-inwithin the platform and independent of the operators' capabilities tosupport two-way SMS), premium SMS billing (single charge per download ontheir bills or recurring monthly charge on their bills), SMS polltemplate and engine, and the like; a scheduling API may be provided tocreate, send, delete and retrieve message content (available for bothSMS and RSS); a subscriber API may be provided that stores and maintainsinformation by phone number for each subscriber; a profile API may beprovided that maintains profile information to enable targeting ofsubsets of subscribers; a location API (LBS) may be provided to allowthe publishers through the Verve Platform to locate the mobile phoneuser and target them with specific information (e.g. ads or content); areporting API may be provided to enable the publishers to measure andmanage their campaigns; an Ad API may be provided to allow to link adsto publishers' mobile site; a Create a Web Page API may be provided toallow for advertising of mobile sites; other APIs may also be provided.APIs such as those described above as well as others may be based onindustry standard such the SOAP protocol for exchanging XML messagesover computer networks.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a system and process for datatransfer from a publisher's CMS 510 to distribution system 120. As shownin FIG. 6, import module 121 may include a content provision module 610configured to receive content in various formats such as comma separatedvalue (CSV), RSS, or customized or proprietary RSS formats. Publishersor third party content providers can provide publisher data 510 storedon one or more servers or other data storage media to one or more Verveplatform databases 128 through interfaces 117 and import module 121.Acceptable formats of communication between the system 120 andpublishers may include a variety of formats such as CSV format, RSSformat, Atom format or other formats known or developed in the art.Format configuration may be facilitated by administrative functions suchas are provided by a mobile dashboard module 124 as shown in FIG. 1 a.In addition, content retrieval may be automated on a regular ornon-regular basis in conjunction with a scheduler 630. Module 620 willtypically be part of the mobile dashboard module 124, where the importermodules 121 are configured to extract data from a publisher's site andinsert data into a database in system 120. This process can be automatedby tying directly into the publisher's CMS system using the APIsdescribed herein.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 7 which illustrates a content importworkflow in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown inFIG. 7, a publisher/advertiser 110 first engages with distributionsystem 120 by setting up a data import location, parameters, andscheduling information at stage 710. Engagement may be provided throughinterfaces 117 as shown in FIG. 1 a. Publisher information and settingsmay then stored in distribution system 120 at stage 720. Anadministrative scheduler function may then schedules data import from,for example, a publishers CMS system or publisher's data 510 (as shownin FIG. 6) at stage 730. Data may then be imported at stage 740 via HTTPor FTP, formatted as RSS or CSV. The data may then be processed, userstargeted, and data formatted according to particular carrier and/or userrequirements based on carrier networks and user device characteristicsin stage 750. In a typical workflow, content is personalized for theuser based on location, time of day, time of access, and other userspecific criteria, such as is further described below with respect toFIGS. 8 and 9.

Content Processing and Storage Modules and Functions

A distribution system 120 may include one or more functional modulesconfigured to implement various functionality as is described withrespect to FIG. 1 a through FIG. 4 and elsewhere herein. Corefunctionality may be implemented with modules as are shown in FIG. 1 b,along with associated submodules.

In one core function of a distribution system 120, Ads associated withpublishers 110 may be selected and targeted to particular usersconnected through a particular carrier. Selecting an ad (also denotedherein as micro-targeting) may be based on any of a number of usercustomization criteria including (but not limited to): user (mobilesubscriber) preference; users' device capabilities; location information(such as geographic location/position of users); temporal information(such as time of day and/or time user accesses particular mobile devicefeatures or functions); carrier/network information; sessioninformation; frequency of use; keywords; carrier specific criteria,portal, or other similar or related criteria. For example, based on auser's known interests, location, and the current time, a user may beable to instantly read peer reviews about a particular shop or officethey are about to enter, or receive offers from a restaurant on thestreet they are walking on or heading to (based on, for example, apreviously scheduled meeting at a location on that street).

As described previously, typical ads may be configured for distributionand provided so that publishers/advertisers need not be aware ofparticular carrier and/or device requirements. Exemplary types ofsupported ads may include banners, interstitials, video, ads embedded inSMS and MMS alerts, click-to-call, as well as ads integrated with thirdparties such as third parties associated with particular carriers (i.e.thirdscreenmedia, adhocmobile, etc.). These ads may be selected based oncarrier and/or device characteristics that may be obtained in a manneras is discussed elsewhere herein or by other means known or developed inthe art.

Along with providing ads, associated functions of a distribution system120 may include the ability to analyze traffic and hits for moreprofitable revenue generation, along with functions providing completesales and inventory forecasting and related functions such as monitoringa user's own profile or a user's friends.

In some embodiments a dynamic reporting capability may be provided viaassociated modules such as those shown in module 310 in FIG. 3. Sitereports may be provided based on a site's historical activity and may beconfigured to include functions such as ad space activity over time,carrier performance and breakdown, geographic advertisementdistribution, device performance and breakdown, and other functions.Data reports may be provided including functions such as salesmanagement data and information allowing optimization of publishers'sales strategy; site management, reporting and forecasting data againstprice; and other functions such as traffic measurement (CPM, etc.) andbehavior of users within a site (for example, the number of users whohave clicked on a link on a particular page).

Attention is now directed to FIG. 8 a which illustrates an embodiment ofa workflow 800 associated with processing a request forcontent/advertisements. It will be apparent that the stages are shownare for purpose of illustration only and not limitation. Accordingly,other stages or combinations are possible within the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

In exemplary embodiments content, including advertisements, may becharacterized so that content can be associated with and targeted tospecific users. For example, some or all advertisements and othercontent may have categorizations associated with them such as, forexample, news and information, food and drinks, ringtones, music,family, etc. In addition, advertisements and other content may includeassociated device information detailing the particular types of mobiledevices the content can be distributed to and/or displayed on. Contentmay also be categorized by types of networks and/or network capabilitiesit may be presented to. This may be combined with geographic/locationinformation to determine particular capabilities of users in real timebased on their location, network access, device, etc. Thiscategorization may be stored in one or more databases and then used, asfor example is described below, to determine appropriate ad and contentprovision.

In light of this, an embodiment of a content processing process may beemployed as shown in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b. As illustrated in FIG. 8 a,content or advertisements may be requested through a request responsemodule 815 at stage 810, typically by a user. Content criteria may beprovided from a content criteria module 840 (such as a database orcontent storage server), wherein content may be categorized by variouscriteria and parameters such as time, location, user device type, andthe like. Once content has been requested, an ad selection module 825may then be initiated at stage 820 using content provided from anAd/Content database 850 based on criteria stored in criteria module 840.Database 850 may be database 116 and/or database 128, or other databasesas are shown herein. In a typical embodiment, targeted user content willbe provided, along with associated targeted advertising content, such asin the form or a boxed ad or banner ad, along with the other content.

Viewing this process at a more abstract level, the ad selection stage820 may be initiated by the request/response module 815. Therequest/response module 815 may be initiated when a user requestsspecific content from a server in distribution system 120. The contentmay be fetched and formatted appropriately from the server, and then oneor more ads may be added to the content in an ad selection module 825 atad selection stage 820.

FIG. 8 b illustrates one embodiment of an ad selection process 800 thatmay be used by ad selection module 825 to select an advertisement for aspecific piece of content and specific user. Selection may begin with areceive query stage 821, where an ad request is received. The request isthen analyzed in an analyze query stage 822. Once the query has beenanalyzed, an appropriate advertisement is identified in an identifyadvertisement stage 823. Embodiments of additional details of this stageare further illustrated in FIG. 9 a. Identify advertisement stage 823then produces an ad selection result identifying the advertisementrequirements by type and content. Additional details are provided inFIG. 9. The ad may then be selected in a search stage 824, wherein aninternal database within distribution system 120 such as database 128,and/or external databases 865 and/or 875, such as databases 115, 116 or510, containing publisher or third party information may be searched. Anad is then selected from one of the databases in stage 825, and the adis then formatted based on the device type and other criteria andprovided to one or more carriers through carrier interfaces such as areshown in FIG. 1 a and FIG. 1 b at stage 826. It is noted that one ormore ads may be selected per page, and in typical embodiments there areno restrictions on the number of ads per page. It is also noted that thestep described above may be changed and/or replaced with other stepsdepending on the request criteria provided.

FIG. 9 illustrates additional aspects of ad/content identification andfiltering in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. It isapparent that the stages shown are for purpose of illustration only andnot limitation. Accordingly, other stages or combinations are possiblewithin the spirit and scope of the invention. As shown in FIG. 9 a, adidentification may include stages of ad type filtering 910 and adcontent filtering 930. FIG. 9 b further illustrates an embodiment of anad type filtering stage 910. Device capabilities associated with aparticular user's mobile device and/or carrier requirements may first beidentified at stage 912. Information of this type may be provided from adatabase of device and carrier information accessible withindistribution system 120. In a typical embodiment, the request by a user,as well as other data, may first be examined. For example, in WAPbrowsing information may be available in the HTTP header, and the LBSheader and the context of the request may also be examined. Once thedevice capability has been determined, as for example is illustrated inFIGS. 9 b and 9 c, network and associated information may then bedetermined in stage 914. This information may also be provided by one ormore databases within distribution system 120. Finally, ad types may beselected in stage 916. Ad types will typically be selected from one ormore databases associated with advertiser/publisher content. It will benoted that the databases may also include a third party advertisingprovider database and/or an operator database. It is noted that one ormore ads may be selected per page, and there will typically not be anyrestriction on the number of ads per page.

FIG. 9 c further illustrates an embodiment of an ad content filteringstage 930. It is apparent that the stage shown are for purpose ofillustration only and not limitation. Accordingly, other stages orcombinations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.As shown in FIG. 9 c, content may be determined by identifyingconsumer/user preferences in stage 931. User preferences may includeinformation such as history of purchases, age or sex of the users,personal preferences such as preferred types of music, food, or otherinterests, type of device being used, and the like. This information istypically collected by operators/carriers. In addition, the same orother information may be collected and stored in distribution system120. For example, information associated with users' purchase of sportstickets may be provided to processing modules within distribution system120, where it may then be used to categorize users based on thisinformation and/or associate personal preference information withparticular users and stored in a database in system 120. As one example,a user buying Red Sox or Patriots tickets may be characterized as asports fan with particular interest in a team or region. Likewise, auser purchasing Boston symphony tickets through a classified listingapplication may be categorized as a music or fine arts fan. In addition,one or more third party databases may also be used to provideinformation to aid in categorizing users so as to provide relevantcontent.

User information obtained as described above and/or by other means maybe processed and stored in one or more databases within distributionsystem 120, where it may then be available to other processes andmodules. Additional information related to a user's geographic positionor location may be determined in stage 932. This information may comefrom carrier and/or user device information or may be determined byother means known in the art. Information on the user's wireless networkmay then be determined in stage 933. This information may include typeof network (i.e. 2G, 3G, WiFi, etc.) provided by the carrier and/ormaintained in one or more databases within distribution system 120.Session information may then be determined in stage 934. As denotedherein a session is a time when a user is connected to a wirelessnetwork. During a session, information may be collected to determinewhat the user may be interested in at that particular time. Thisinformation may come from one or more databases within distributionsystem 120 based on a user profile. Additional information related touser interests may be determined in stage 935. This information may beprovided by one or more databases within distribution system 120. Deviceinformation may be provided in stage 936. This information may come fromone or more databases in distribution system 120. A final selectionstage 937 may be performed wherein one or more items of informationprovided in previous steps are used to select an appropriateadvertisement and associated format.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 14 a which illustrates anotherembodiment of an advertisement selection process 1400 in accordance withaspects of the present invention. The process begins at stage 1410 whena user 140 requests content from system 120. This is typically done bythe user by clicking on a URL on a mobile device to access the system.The URL may be provided on a browser on the device and/or may also beprovided on a standalone application associated with system 120. In somecases the URL may be associated with a particular carrier such as isfurther described below. URL and other information is typically includedin a message header accompanying the user request.

As used herein, a partner is a single newspaper, magazine, or other datasource that provides content feeds specific to a particular geographicarea. These feeds are typically presented under a single brand name,typically the name of the publication. A portal is the mobile user'sentry point to partner data. A portal may offer data from multiplepartners, or it may consist of only a single partner's data. Partnersmay be offered on multiple portals. For example, some portals are:

Verve Off-Deck (vw.vrvm.com)

Verizon (verizon.vm.com)

The URL http://verizon.vrvm.com/ is the portal landing page in thisexample.

Likewise, for generic off-deck access, the partner mnemonics should bethe same. Generic Verve off-deck URLs look like:

http://vm.vrvm.com/mh/

http://vw.vrvm.com/austin/

Implementation for ad: Therefore it is possible to traffic advertisementon a per-partner and per-portal basis. This may mean both separate“ad-tags” for each portal a partner is a member of and inserting aportal+partner reference ID into an ad request.

The URL is then intercepted to determine which portal (based on the URL)is serving the content. The portal is important as it affects whatnetwork ad is used and the template which provides the look and feel ofthe page. At stage 1420 the header information is used to determine thetype of device being used by user 140, and to extract an appropriatetemplate based on the device. The content is then extracted from adatabase at stage 1430 to determine the type, category and specificcontent. An AdCell engine is then applied at stage 1440 to select anappropriate ad as is further described below. Each transaction in thesystem is typically logged at stage 1480, with the data sent to a datawarehousing function, such as is shown in subsystem 220 in FIG. 2,wherein reporting for partners and advertisers may be continuallyupdated. Associated reports or other data may then be used for auditingor other purposes. At the last step, the full content may then be sentback to the requesting device associated with user 140 through thecarrier 130, with the content tailored to the user, based on the user'sinterest or other criteria, the carrier 130, connectivity capabilities,and/or the user's device capability.

FIG. 14 b illustrates additional details of an embodiment of stage 1420as shown in FIG. 14 a. As noted previously, each user's device may havedifferent device capabilities. A database of these capabilities may bestored in system 120 and may be used to dynamically provide anassociated template. The template may be further customized based onpublishers requests or requirements or based on other criteria. Inaddition, if no device template is defined for a particular publisherand/or device, a default template may be provided. In a typicalembodiment, a template is a series of files having a preset orpredefined format, so that a particular application does not have to berecreated each time it is used. At stage 1422 the system 120 determinesthe device type based on the user agent header. At stage 1424 the devicecapabilities and characteristics are obtained, such as by using theWURFL open source database or another database providing the device typeand capabilities. Once this information is determined, a device specifictemplate or default template may be selected at stage 1426, typicallyfrom a publisher template database internal to system 120, however, thetemplate may also be selected from an external database. In addition,the template may be configured to be specific to the publisher. Forexample, a particular publisher may have a set of templates that areunique to that publisher and to a set of devices.

FIG. 14 c illustrates additional details of an embodiment of stage 1430as shown in FIG. 14 a. As noted previously, one or more databases maystore user characteristics such as user preferences, as well as otherrelated information such as time of day and the user's location. Atstage 1432, content may be extracted from a database, such as database128 or another internal system database or external database, and then auser page may be formatted according to the pre-defined template atstage 1434. As noted previously, a template or template information maybe retrieved from an internal or external database, such as database128, and the page may be formatted according to a particular styledefined by the template. The template may be based on capabilitiesassociated with a particular device and/or based on a particular styleor format associated with a publisher or other content provider.

In addition to user requested content, one or more advertisements may beprovided to the user in place of or in addition to the other content asshown in FIG. 14 a. FIG. 14 d illustrates additional details of anembodiment of a process stage 1440 (as shown in FIG. 14 a) forfacilitating ad selection. The process 1440 begins at stage 1442 withidentification of the portal/network based on analysis of theintercepted URL. It is noted that particular carriers may haveassociated ad network partners, such as those shown in FIG. 14 e. Aquery is generated for the ad network based on a set of informationassociated with the user, carrier, network, etc at the end of process1440. For example, the query may include information about one or moreof the network, the portal, the ad configuration, the campaignconfiguration, the flight configuration, the user preference, thelocation, the user preference, the location, the user demographic, thesession information, device characteristics, and/or other information.Associated publisher configuration information may be determined atstage 1446. Once this information is obtained, an advertising providerselection process may be implemented as shown in FIG. 14 e.

In addition, user preferences may be determined at stage 1448, userdemographics may be determined at stage 1452, user session informationmay be determined at stage 1456, device characteristics and capabilitiesmay be identified at stage 1456, natural language processing may beimplemented at stage 1460 to improve targeting, and an ad may beselected at stage 1466 based on one or more of the above describedcriteria, or other criteria. In general publisher configuration andassociated selection will be based on a series of ad selection stageswherein a local ad partner is first assessed at stage 1446 a and acampaign is selected. When a request comes in, the ad management module122 first attempts to serve it with local ads from a local ad partnerB400 (as shown in FIG. 14 e). If no relevant local ad partner ads areidentified (i.e., no matches are found for a specific page, specificdevice, specific type of ad, etc.), 3rd party ad partners B500 areactivated at stage 1446 b and an appropriate campaign is selected.Likewise, if no 3rd party ad partner content is identified, 3rd party adremnant partners B600 may be activated. The particular configuration forwhich ad network is to be used and under which category (local (b100),partners (b200), remnants (b300)) it belongs to is may be configurablethrough the mobile dashboard. In general, the 3rd party ad partners B500will be national ad providers, whereas the local ad partners B400 willbe local, with corresponding local content stored on a server in system120. However, in some embodiments, national ad providers may beaffiliated with local ad providers so that requests for national ads maybe associated with one or more of the local ad partners based on userspecific criteria, such as the user's interest, location, time of day,etc. 3rd party remnant ad providers are generally used only when noother local or third party ads are available.

To further describe a query request as shown in FIG. 14 d, an examplemay be as follows. A user associated with a particular carrier, Sprint,may send a request for content, that will be processed to generate anassociated ad in accordance with process 1440. Since the user isassociated with Sprint, which has a mandatory ad network, Enpocket, thead would be requested solely through Enpocket if the request comesthrough Sprint's portal. Alternately, if the request is made throughanother portal, the ad selection would not be limited to just thecorresponding ad network, and local and/or third party ads may beselected. The header information provides details regarding the user'sdevice, and one or more user criteria may also be included in the query,such as one or more user preferences, session information (such aswhether the user is looking at sports, entertainment, news or othercontent category, time of day, the user's location, etc.). This mightresult in a query that requests an ad based on the user's Blackberrydevice (or other specific device), through the Enpocket ad network (ifthe request is made through Sprint), based on the user's preference forsports news, and possibly more specifically based on a particular sport,such as baseball, in a particular town where the user is present or isinterested in. If successful, the query will return a corresponding admatched to the particular targeted information along with any otherprovided content.

FIG. 14 e depicts a typical configuration for ad selection criteria fromvarious ad partners. The described functionality is denoted as AdCel andmay be implemented in the Ad Management Network Module 122 as shown inFIG. 1 a. As shown in FIG. 14 e, local ad management may involve a localPublisher/partner local ad, which is typically the preferable initial adtarget. However, carriers may require that third party ads are servedthrough an ad partner associated with a particular carrier, particularlyif the ad request is made through the carrier's deck (i.e., through acarrier URL). For example, as of the time of this application, Verizonmandates use of Third Screen Media for any ad going through theirportal/network. Therefore, if access is made through the carrier, AdCelwould attempt to retrieve an ad from Third Screen Media and if and AdCelcannot get a relevant impression from Third Screen Media, then the pagewould not have an ad. Other carriers, such as T-Mobile, do not have acorresponding ad provider, and therefore ads would be selected by AdCelfirst through a local ad partner B400, then through a 3rd party adpartner B500 if no local ads were available, and finally through aremnant partner B600. It is noted that the ad revenue will typically begreatest through the local partner, then the 3rd party ad partner, andthen the remnant partner.

As noted previously, users 140 may be provided with an interface orother mechanism to customize their information so that user tailoredcontent may be delivered. FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of aprocess 1500 for user customization. The process begins at stage 1510with the user selecting a content page, such as via a URL associatedwith the Verve system or another provider system. The user is thenprovided with one or more selection options at stage 1520. These mayinclude allowing the user to set preferences at stage 1532, and/or toset the user's location at stage 1534, and/or to set automatic locationdetection (when available with the user's device and associated carrier130) at stage 1536. The preferences are then stored on a database insystem 120 at stage 1540, such as database 128 or another database asshown in FIG. 2.

Carrier Related Modules and Interfaces

As shown in FIG. 1 a and FIG. 1 b, content may be provided to carriersfrom distribution system 120 through interface 122 and associatedcarrier interface 127. Carriers are typically concerned about who canprovide appropriate content through their networks & users and what thatcontent includes. This is typically managed by the carriers throughtheir wireless access protocol (WAP). This may be done using XHTMLMobile Profile (MP), which is a strict subset of XHTML. Alternately, insome embodiments an implementation using FLASH Lite or other approachessuch as a widget implementation may be used.

In order to accommodate this, in some embodiments a system in accordancewith the present invention may be configured as shown in FIG. 10.Distribution system 120 may provide direct distribution 1010 of contentto users through a URL. However, Carriers/Operations 1020 typicallydictate a specific partner to use for the ad partner (for example,Verizon requiring Third Screen Media). Therefore, the system shoulddetermine that a portal is associated with a particular 3rd party adpartner and request ads accordingly. In this case, ads will be requestedfrom only the associated third party ad partner (B500) and not fromlocal ad partners (B400) or the remnant partners (B600). Module 122 mayreceive impressions from either B600 or 1020 and logs the informationfor reporting to subsystem 220. Configuration may be done through theadministrative interface within the publisher subsection of system 120.

In order to provide and receive information from particular users andcarriers it is important to be able to identify wireless devicecapabilities associated with particular mobile devices. In someembodiments a distribution system 120 may be configured to interfacewith a wireless uniform resource file (WURFL) database of wirelessdevice capabilities to determine capabilities of particular userdevices, and store this information in a database where it may be usedto manage ad identification and filtering such as is illustrated inFIGS. 9 a and 9 b and FIG. 14. WURFL is only one open source database;it will be apparent that in some embodiments other proprietary or opensource databases may be used. In addition, other approaches as are knownin the art may also be used.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 11 which illustrates embodiments ofdistribution of content from a distribution system 120 according tovarious means of distribution as are known in the art. FIG. 11illustrates the level of complexity that may be managed by the systemsas described herein to simplify interactions between content providers102 (advertisers and publishers) at one end of the chain and users 140at the other end. As shown in FIG. 11, content from content providers102 may be received, managed, and distributed by distribution system 120and provided to users 140 in formats designed to support multipledistribution means as appropriate for particular users and theirassociated devices including SMS, WAP PUSH, etc.

FIG. 12 illustrates a sample schema for an embodiment of a system andprocess in accordance with aspects of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 12, a content distribution process may first start at stage 1205with an advertiser selecting a publishers site on which to run theircampaigns. The campaign may include publisher criteria 1210 such aspublisher details and features available as well as ad types requested.A specific URL may be assigned to the ad and additionalcriteria/parameters tagged at the end of the URL to help in targetingthe consumer.

Advertisers 1220 (or publishers acting in proxy of their advertisers)may create advertising campaigns at stage 1225 that may consist of oneor more “flights” or “insertion orders.” A flight or insertion order isthe administrative component of the ad, defining the cost of the ad,number of impressions, and when it should run. Flights may have multiplead “creatives.” A creative is where an individual ad is defined andtargeting specified. Response information (e.g., landing page URL, etc.)may also be encapsulated in the creative. Each creative may consist ofone or more files. Files are the actual banner, text, or other mediatype for the ad.

As an example, a San Diego Padres ad campaign may look like this:

Ad Campaign: Padres 2007 Season

-   -   Flight: Opening Day, 2007-04-01 to 2007-04-07; 10,000        impressions@$5 CPM        -   Creative: Previous Season Record; response: landing page            file            -   File: record_big.jpg: large banner            -   File: record_medium.jpg: medium banner            -   File: record_small.jpg: small banner            -   File: http://wap.padres.com/landing/record.html: landing                page        -   Creative: New Players; response: landing page file            -   File: players_big.jpg: large banner            -   File: players_medium.jpg: medium banner            -   File: players_small.jpg: small banner            -   File: http://wap.padres.com/landing/2007players.html:                landing page    -   Flight: Military Night, 2007-04-05 to 2007-04-10; 5,000        impressions@$5 CPM        -   Creative: Camo Uniforms; response: landing page file            -   File: camo_big.jpg: large banner            -   File: camo_medium.jpg: medium banner            -   File: camo_small.jpg: small banner            -   File: http://wap.padres.com/landing/camo.html: landing                page        -   Creative: Camo T-Shirts: response: SMS response file            -   File: tshirt_big.jpg: large banner            -   File: tshirt_medium.jpg: medium banner            -   File: tshirt_small.jpg: small banner            -   File: “Show this text message at the gate for your free                Padres T-Shirt (code: XYZ123)”: SMS response

Having chosen a flight or flights, the advertiser may then chooserelated criteria on when and how advertisements are chosen for display,upload any necessary graphics or artwork, and transfer the informationinto the content distribution system 120. Ad campaigns may includecampaign parameters such as a campaign name, associated advertiser, aswell as other parameters. A flight model may be created at stage 1230,wherein the flight models a set of impressions that have been bought foran advertising campaign. Flights may also be used to keep track ofadvertisement “burn rate,” in order to ensure that the advertisement isused evenly over the course of the flights' duration.

A flight relies on one or more display templates or styles ofpresentation to present an ad to a user. For example, an ad may be inthe form of a banner, full page, SMS message, etc., and the format maybe vertical screen device, horizontal screen device, or other displayformats. Media templates may be used to provide specific formatinformation needed, such as the template type and template content andmedia. The media file in the display template is a pointer to the actualfile (binary file) in the media. The media may be stored as binaryinformation in the database and transcoded to a specific instancedepending on the device features and/or limitations.

Partners and Partner Tables

A partner entity may be representative of or associated with apublication partner using the system. A data structure denoted as apartner table or tables may be used to describe the partner entity in adata structure within one or more databases. Other entities, such asmessaging ads and/or other modules as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, mayreference the partner entity to control access and control of variouscomponents.

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen shot of an implementation of a social app(A mobile sticky) in accordance with aspects of the present invention.This application may be used to enable any mobile user to create his/herown mobile site. A mobile user may use this application to createhis/her own personal content that can be retrieved from a publisher'sown mobile site or created with the user's own personal data. Thisfunctionality may be implemented by a process including enabling everymobile page on a mobile content management system (for our publishers)to become an RSS feed. For example, by enabling RSS creation of RSSfeed, personal sites as described previously can subscribe to thosefeeds, thereby enabling subscription of sites, links, or areas ofinterest. So, if a particular user is interested in the Sports sectionfrom Boston Magazine, restaurants from the San Diego Reader, and eventsfrom NewsObserver these can be combined onto a single page or screen.The page can be created by adding the RSS feeds of these specific pagesto a user customized page, denoted as a user's myPage. In addition,others can be invited to look at a user's myPage to view or comment onit. This type of social network application also enables inviting usersto specific events and tracking the responses and location of theirfriends or other contacts.

For example, a user interacting with the display interface shown in FIG.13 (the display provided on the user's mobile device, with the mobiledevice connected to system 120) can select the feed they want and thestories or other content he or she is interested in. In this case, theuser is provided with an invite to a movie selection at 1305 (and isable to track who accepted the invitations and who declined). Item 1309shows a Philadelphia (i.e. region specific) news link to the latestlocal news—the page can become the user's unique page which can then beshared with friends, acquaintances, etc. Customization of this page to aspecific client can be done through a 3rd party provider using the APIsas illustrated in FIG. 1 c and FIG. 1 d.

FIG. 13 b illustrates another screen shot 1300 b of different usercustomized content delivery as facilitated on a different device capableof graphical content display. Item 1310 b illustrates links with a phototo local news from a user's selected local news region (San Francisco inthis case), along with local news 1320 b from another user selectedlocal region (Miami). As noted previously, the user may be enabled toselect this information based on one or more categories or preferencesas described previously. In this example, an advertisement 1360 b may beinserted at the top of the content page, with the advertisement selectedbased on the user criteria as described previously, such as is shown inFIGS. 9 and 14. The links in 1310 b may be associated with more than onelocal publisher, i.e., the San Francisco Chronicle and the MercuryNews.Since each is trying to get associated ad placement, ad generatedrevenues may be allocated between two or more publishers based onvarious criteria. In one exemplary embodiment, payment may be based onhow high in the news article stack the particular publisher's articleappears. This may depend on user preferences, time of story, devicesettings, relevance to the user, or other criteria. Payment for adplacement may also be divided among two or more publishers and/orassociated providers. For example, in display 1300 b, payment may bedivided between the Chronicle, MercuryNews, and AT&T (or otherproviders).

FIG. 13 c illustrates another screen shot 1300 c of user customizedcontent delivery, wherein the user selected content category isentertainment, and two entertainment related stories 1310 c and 1320 c(as well as others) are provided to the user based on his or herselection of entertainment as a category of interest. An ad 1360 c maybe placed on the page as described in FIGS. 9 and 14. In some cases,particular content may be provided by a specific content provider, suchas the associated press (AP). In this case, ad placement revenueassociated with ad 1360 c would go solely to the AP. This exampleillustrates provision of AP content from the AP state wire, with thecontent selected and provided directly to the user, rather than throughan AP associated publisher.

FIG. 13 d illustrates another screen shot 1300 d of user customizedcontent delivery, wherein the user selected content category is videos,and two video links 1310 d and 1320 d (as well as others) are providedto the user. An ad 1360 d may be placed on the page as described inFIGS. 9 and 14.

It is noted that these display screens show just one embodiment of thepresent invention based on particular user selection criteria, as wellas device and network capabilities. In a typical implementation, thesystem will automatically determine the capabilities of the particularuser's device and tailor the page to both the user's interest and thedevice and network capabilities.

It is noted that in various embodiments the present invention may relateto processes such as are described or illustrated herein and/or in therelated applications. These processes are typically implemented in oneor more modules comprising systems as described herein and/or in therelated applications, and such modules may include computer softwarestored on a computer readable medium including instructions configuredto be executed by one or more processors. It is further noted that,while the processes described and illustrated herein and/or in therelated applications may include particular stages, it is apparent thatother processes including fewer, more, or different stages than thosedescribed and shown are also within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the processes shown herein and in the relatedapplications are provided for purposes of illustration, not limitation.

As noted, some embodiments of the present invention may include computersoftware and/or computer hardware/software combinations configured toimplement one or more processes or functions associated with the presentinvention such as those described above and/or in the relatedapplications. These embodiments may be in the form of modulesimplementing functionality in software and/or hardware softwarecombinations. Embodiments may also take the form of a computer storageproduct with a computer-readable medium having computer code thereon forperforming various computer-implemented operations, such as operationsrelated to functionality as describe herein. The media and computer codemay be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of thepresent invention, or they may be of the kind well known and availableto those having skill in the computer software arts, or they may be acombination of both.

Examples of computer-readable media within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention include, but are not limited to: magnetic media suchas hard disks; optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs and holographicdevices; magneto-optical media; and hardware devices that are speciallyconfigured to store and execute program code, such as programmablemicrocontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”),programmable logic devices (“PLDs”) and ROM and RAM devices. Examples ofcomputer code may include machine code, such as produced by a compiler,and files containing higher-level code that are executed by a computerusing an interpreter. Computer code may be comprised of one or moremodules executing a particular process or processes to provide usefulresults, and the modules may communicate with one another via meansknown in the art. For example, some embodiments of the invention may beimplemented using assembly language, Java, C, C#, C++, or otherprogramming languages and software development tools as are known in theart. Other embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardwiredcircuitry in place of, or in combination with, machine-executablesoftware instructions.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that specificdetails are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, theforegoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention arepresented for purposes of illustration and description. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed; obviously, many modifications and variations are possible inview of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and describedin order to best explain the principles of the invention and itspractical applications, they thereby enable others skilled in the art tobest utilize the invention and various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It isintended that the following claims and their equivalents define thescope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving a firstplurality of advertising content, a second plurality of advertisingcontent and a third plurality of advertising content, the firstplurality of advertising content being associated with a first pluralityof local advertising content providers, the second plurality ofadvertising content being associated with a second plurality of nationaladvertising content providers, the third plurality of advertisingcontent being associated with a plurality of remnant advertising contentproviders, each local advertising content provider from the firstplurality of local advertising content providers having a respectivegeographic scope different than a geographic scope of each nationaladvertising content provider from the second plurality of nationaladvertising content providers; receiving, via a first device, from auser device a request to provide a set of content from a plurality ofsets of content to the user device; selecting a first advertisingcontent from the first plurality of advertising content based on alocation of the user device when the location of the user device iswithin the geographic target scope of the first advertising content;selecting a second advertising content from the second plurality ofadvertising based on the location of the user device when no firstadvertisement content from the plurality of advertising content isselected and when the location of the user device is within thegeographic scope of the second advertising content; selecting a thirdadvertisement content from the third plurality of advertisement contentwhen no first advertisement content from the first plurality ofadvertising content and no second advertising content from the secondplurality of advertising content are selected; and sending, via thefirst device, content associated with the set of content and theselected first advertising content, the second advertising content orthe third advertising content to the user device.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the location of the user device includes an indication of alongitude and a latitude of the user device.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the location of the user device includes informationrepresentative of a neighborhood, a city and a state of the user device.4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the selecting the first advertisingcontent includes selecting the first advertising content based on prioruse information of the user device associated with the location; and theselecting the second advertising content includes selecting the secondadvertising content based on the prior use information of the userdevice associated with the location.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein:the selecting the first advertising content includes selecting the firstadvertising content based on a prior use information of the user deviceassociated with a feature of the user device; and the selecting thesecond advertising content includes selecting the second advertisingcontent based on the prior use information of the user device associatedwith the feature of the user device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein:the selecting the first advertising content includes selecting the firstadvertising content based on (1) a time of day associated with therequest and (2) a prior use information of the user device associatedwith a feature of the user device; and the selecting the secondadvertising content includes selecting the second advertising contentbased on (1) the time of day associated with the request and (2) theprior use information of the user device associated with the feature ofthe user device.
 7. A method, comprising: receiving a first plurality ofadvertising content and a second plurality of advertising content, thefirst plurality of advertising content being associated with a firstplurality of local advertising content providers, the second pluralityof advertising content being associated with a second plurality ofnational advertising content providers, each local advertising contentprovider from the first plurality of local advertising content providershaving a respective geographic scope different than a geographic scopeof each national advertising content provider from the second pluralityof national advertising content providers; receiving, via a firstdevice, from a user device a request to provide a set of content from aplurality of sets of content to the user device; selecting a firstadvertising content from the first plurality of advertising contentbased on a location of the user device, prior use information and thegeographic target scope of the first advertising content; selecting asecond advertising content from the second plurality of advertising,when no first advertisement content from the plurality of advertisingcontent is selected, based on the location of the user device, the prioruse information and the geographic scope of the second advertisingcontent; sending, via the first device and to the user device, contentassociated with the set of content and the first advertising contentwhen selected or the second advertising content when selected; receivinga third plurality of advertising content that is associated with aplurality of remnant advertising content providers; selecting a thirdadvertisement content from the third plurality of advertisement contentwhen no first advertisement content from the first plurality ofadvertising content and no second advertising content from the secondplurality of advertising content are selected; and sending, via thefirst device and to the user device, content associated with the set ofcontent and the third advertising content.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the location of the user device includes an indication of alongitude and a latitude of the user device.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the location of the user device includes informationrepresentative of a neighborhood, a city and a state of the user device.10. The method of claim 7, wherein the prior use information isassociated with a prior location of the user device.
 11. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the prior use information is associated with a featureof the user device.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein: the selectingthe first advertising content includes selecting the first advertisingcontent based on a time of day associated with the request; and theselecting the second advertising content includes selecting the secondadvertising content based on the time of day associated with therequest.
 13. An apparatus, comprising: a first interface module receiveslocal advertising content from at least one local advertisementprovider; a second interface module receives third party advertisingcontent from a plurality of national advertisement providers; a thirdinterface module receives listing advertising content from a pluralityremnant advertising content providers, the first interface module, thesecond interface module and the third interface module are collectivelyprovides an interface to a first device; and a processing moduleoperatively coupled to the first interface module, the second interfacemodule and the third interface module, the processing module receives arequest for content from a second device associated with a user via thefirst device, the processing module selects, in response to the request,an advertisement from the at least one local advertisement providerbased on a location of the user device, prior use information and thegeographic target scope of the first advertising content, the processingmodule selects an advertisement from the plurality of nationaladvertisement providers, when no advertisement from the at least onelocal advertisement provider is selected, based on the location of theuser device, the prior use information and the geographic scope of theadvertisement from the plurality of national advertisement providers,the processing module selects an advertisement from the plurality ofremnant advertising content providers when no advertisement from the atleast one local advertisement provider is selected and when noadvertisement from the at least one national advertisement provider isselected, the processing module formats, for delivery to said seconddevice via the first device based at least in part on a set of devicecapabilities associated with the second device, the advertisement fromthe at least one local advertisement provider when selected or theadvertisement from the plurality of national advertisement providerswhen selected.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the location ofthe user device includes an indication of a longitude and a latitude ofthe user device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the location ofthe user device includes information representative of a neighborhood, acity and a state of the user device.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the prior use information is associated with a prior location ofthe user device.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the prior useinformation is associated with a feature of the user device.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein: the processing module selects theadvertisement from the at least one local advertisement provider basedon a time of day associated with the request, the processing moduleselects the advertisement from the plurality of national advertisementproviders based on a time of day associated with the request.